rugby union. made contact with a japanese rugby union.— when he first made contact with a japanese rugby union. i don't do an interview before _ japanese rugby union. i don't do an interview before the _ japanese rugby union. i don't do an interview before the world - japanese rugby union. i don't do an interview before the world cup. - japanese rugby union. i don't do an interview before the world cup. i l interview before the world cup. i was asked by the recruitment agency to share my experiences with them on japan, and some people might have construed that as an interview. it certainly wasn't an interview. the first interview i had with japan was in december. and that is the only interview i have had. the in december. and that is the only interview i have had.— interviewl have had. the golden state warriors _ interviewl have had. the golden state warriors forward _ interviewl have had. the golden state warriors forward has - interviewl have had. the golden state warriors forward has been | sta

a contest between two age—old rivals of english rugby union.tir the senses on the final day of the year. looking to regain top spot in the table, bath made a fast start with an interception from handre's pollard's pass meaning bath ran home 70 metres. if that had the home support feeling glum, then a try swiftly lifted the mood, as leicester wrestled back the initiative and took complete control with mike brown crossing the line for their second. bath saw their captain sin—binned, and the tigers took full advantage of the extra man, with further tries. there was some joy for bath teenager louis hennessy, who scored his first premiership try in the second half. his team will hope 2024 brings them a first title since the 1990s, but bath will require better performances than this. the tennis world is gearing up for the first grand slam of 2024 — the australian open — with many warm up tournaments under way. at the united cup in perth, katie boulter had given britain the lead with the best win of her career as she beat the world numberfivejessica p

2023 was a tumultuous yearfor rugby union.nd london irish folded. but september brought the start of the world cup. ireland had arrived at the tournament the number one side in the world. victory over defending champions south africa in the group stages raising expectations further. england's build—up was dominated by the absence of captain 0wen farrell. the opening games bringing more problems. they would, though, make it through, as would wales. scotland, though, out before the quarterfinals. which was, in truth, where the tournament really caught light. for all of us, i think it's like a dream come true, a childhood dream, getting out to a world cup with your mates, seeing wales play in the quarterfinal. it would be right up there, you know, it's such an important match for us. but where the highest hopes were extinguished — wales knocked out by argentina before ireland lost a classic against the all blacks. england were the only home nation to make it to the semifinals, although few gave them too much chance against south

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2023 was a tumultuous yearfor rugby union.ng asjersey reds and london irish folded. but september brought the start of the world cup. ireland had arrived at the tournament the number one side in the world. victory over defending champions south africa in the group stages raised expectations further. england's build—up was dominated by the absence of captain 0wen farrell. the opening games bringing more problems. they would, though, make it through, as would wales. but scotland were out before the quarterfinals. which was, in truth, where the tournament really caught light. for all of us, i think it is like a dream come true, a childhood dream, getting out to a world cup with your mates, seeing wales play in the quarter final. it would be right up there, you know, it is such an important match for us. but the highest hopes were extinguished. wales knocked out by argentina. before ireland lost a classic against the all blacks. england were the only home nation to make it to the semifinals, although few gave them too much chance

here, rugby union's six nations, well, that was all about ireland.

here, rugby union's six nations, well, that was all about ireland.he way! a cruel knife to the heart of wales. the number one side on the planet against the reigning grand slam champions. oh, my goodness! breathtaking! absolutely breathtaking!

to rugby union and henry arundel will be ineligible for england selection after signing a new two yearto play club rugby for asking 92 in france, 21—year—old wing joined the paris side after london irish went bankrupt. he was given special dispensation to play in the upcoming six nations, but that has been revoked after he chose to stay longer in france rather than join an english club. the new contract means rfu rules not allowing players based abroad to be selected for england now apply. arundel announced his arrival to racing fans with a hat trick against toulon last month. and that is sadly all the time we've got left for now from me, marc edwards, and the rest of the team here at the bbc sports centre. bye— bye. hello there. wednesday's weather will see big improvements. it will brighten up very nicely from the west and over the next few days, for the vast majority of us, it will turn a lot drier. high pressure starts to build in from the south, will say, turning milder into the weekend with westerly winds and temperatures rising across the board into double figures once more. now

rugby union referee tom foley says he's stepping away from officiating at the highest level after socialrld cup final. and tiger rediscovers his roar, saying it was fun to play competitive golf once again eight months on from his last appearance. welcome to the programme. thank you forjoining us. we start with football and the final round of crucial women's nation league on tuesday, with plenty still to be decided.

rugby union referee tom foley says he's stepping away from officiating at the highest level after socialing the world cup final. and tiger rediscovers his roar, saying it was fun to play competitive golf once again eight months on from his last appearance. welcome to the programme. thank you forjoining us. we start with football and the final round of crucial women's nation league on tuesday, with plenty still to be decided. nowhere more so than at hampden, where england are hoping to beat scotland emphatically to book their place in the knockout stages. but there's more to it than that. england are trying to qualify for next summer's olympics on behalf of teamgb, so defeat for scotland on tuesday night could actually benefit some

it would allow all the lawsuits against world rugby, the rugby football union and the welsh rugby unionlasgow 40—29. ronnie o'sullivan got himself out of a jam to reach the semi—finals of the uk snooker championship, winning his last eight match on a deciding frame in york. the seven time winner was 4—1 up against zhou yuelong of china, needing just two more frames to win, but lost four in a row to trail 5—4. but zhou couldn't get over the line, with o'sullivan finishing off with a century break. despite claiming afterwards he'd been "awful," the world number one will play hossein vafai of iran in the semi—finals. i still love playing and, you know, with pool, billiards, i love all cue sports and sometimes you think it is about making the right decision at the right time, but i love the game, i love snooker, i always play snooker, but when you are out playing these young guys, they are really hungry, i have another one tomorrow, he is really up for it, it just doesn't stop. if i were playing steve, i would be feeling great, but i'm feeling the kids, i am playing these kids, they are lik

rugby union referee tom foley says he's stepping away from officiating at the highest level after socialedia abuse following the world cup final. tiger rediscovers his roar, saying it was fun to play competitive golf once again, eight months on from his last appearance. welcome along. thank you forjoining us. we start then with football and the final round of crucial women's nations league on tuesday with plenty still to be decided, nowhere more so than at hampden, where england are hoping to beat scotland emphatically to book their place in the knockout stages. but there's more to it than that. england are trying to qualify for next summer's olympics on behalf of team gb, so defeat for scotland on tuesday night could actually benefit some scottish players who want to be part of the great britain squad. not that they're thinking about it that way is joe curry now reports. that way as joe curry now reports. it's been a qualifying campaign of twists and turns for the lionesses, but now they're one game away from taking a big step towards securing team gb a spot at next summer's olympic gam

to rugby union, and harry arundel will be ineligible for england's selection after signing a new two—yearen special dispensation to play in the upcoming six nations but that has been revoked, after he chose to stay longer in france rather than join an english club. the new contract means rfu rules not allowing players based abroad to be selected for england now apply. arundel announced his arrival to racing fans with a hat—trick against toulon last month. that is sadly all the time we have left now. from the marc edwards and the rest of the team at the bbc sport centre, goodbye. hello, there. wednesday's weather will see big improvements. it will brighten up very nicely from the west, and over the next few days, for the vast majority of us, it will turn a lot drier, as high pressure starts to build in from the south, also turning milder into the weekend, with westerly winds and temperatures rising across the board into double figures once more. now, that very slow—moving area of low pressure continues to meander its way into the near continent. still plenty of cloud, some showery outbreak

almost 300 rugby union players, suffering from brain damage have had a setback in their attempt to combinee high court today well, this process began three years ago. and fair to say, we're still very much in the preliminary stages. just to remind you of the allegations, the players, many of them former internationals, 295, now, they say the game's authorities didn't do enough to protect them from head injuries. and that's why they're suffering from a range of neurological disorders, things like early onset dementia and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or cte, as it's known today at the high court. their legal team wanted all of those individual claims to be condensed into one single group action, but that didn't happen. the judge described the parties as passing each other like ships in the night. the main issue, it seems, is the defendants, the welsh rfu, the english rfu and world rugby, they want the players to provide their full medical records. at the moment, all they've got is the prognosis for each other. claimants, they want much more, and thejudge agreed. so they'll be back here

rugby union referee tom foley says he's stepping away from officiating at the highest level after socialiger rediscovers his roar, saying it was fun to play competitive golf once again, eight months on from his last appearance. welcome to the programme. thank you for

it's been confirmed that eddiejones has been appointed japan's rugby union head coach for the seconded japan between 2012 and 2015, which included a famous win over south africa at the 2015 world cup. he resigned as australia coach in october after they failed to reach the knockout stages of this year's world cup. great britain's most successful female olympian dame laura kenny believes women athletes can struggle to get pregnant because of their lifestyle. the mum—of—two is targeting a fourth games in paris next year and speaking with husband, jason, to five live breakfast, kenny says she's had many conversations with athletes suffering with a condition called red—s. there is no reason why it happened to us but i do think there are females who have struggled and will struggle to get pregnant because of the lifestyle of being an athlete and with red—s with females losing their periods, you will not get pregnant if you do not have a period. i have always consistently had a period so that has always been fine for me but the amount of conversations i have had of people having red—s, it

next to a statement win for bath, who are top of rugby union's gallagher premiership tonight after beatingsmith living up to the pre—match noise. exeter are just four points behind the new leaders after they extended their impressive home record with victory over leicester. patrick geary reports. it is always a sign of a good christmas when you are completely full up. bath's rate was one of several premiership grounds at capacity over the festive period. this is what the locals had come to see. finn russell launching a move which flowed through lawrence and into the unstoppable path ofjoe cokanasiga. some start and we had barely played four minutes when marcus smith composed eloquence' response. instinctive brilliance, the mark of marcus. the second half was closed, claustrophobic stuff. space had to be earned and ruthlessly exploited. joe cokanasiga, the slaloming bulldozer, helped put bath 15 points ahead but in the gathering gloom, harlequins rumbled back. jack walker over the line. now the next try would be crucial. so bath threw everything at finding it. in there somewhere was miles r

joy neville has been doing it in rugby union since 2016. while at the last men's rugby league world cup made history by taking charge of a game. this summer, sue redfern made the breakthrough in men's cricket. she was a standing umpire in a county championship match. while in football, today's announcement comes after the trailblazing by stephanie frappart, the french referee who's been taking charge of men's games since 2019. all that has helped lead to rebecca welch making history in the match between fulham and burnleyjust before christmas. while on boxing day, sam allison will become the first black referee to take charge of a premier league game in 15 years. nesta mcgregor reports. from a job working in health care to taking care of top—flight football in england, rebecca welch, history maker. having already been part of a matchday team, when the ao—year—old former administrator takes charge of full of versus burnley on december 23, shall become the first woman to referee of premier league match. we've got some really talented female officials both in the men's game and the women's

marcus smith was among the tries as harlequins beat racing 92 and sale sharks are off the mark in rugby union'sy — who got the better of champions la rochelle. leicester had their world cup winner, handre pollard to thank — as they came back to edge a thriller against south african side stormers. ben croucher reports. it is the european competition with an international flavour where in the east midlands, leicester tigers met cape town's stormers and lead. the south african side had plenty of ingenuity to lead on the even without their world cup winners. leicester have theirs though. andrew pollard with the tigers�* third try and thenjosh bassett secured what could be a crucial bonus point in this star—studded group that includes two teams that played in the final for this trophy in the last two years. la rochelle got the better of leinster both times and they were determined to write that. in these conditions it would never be a classic but against a team who haven�*t lost in europe for over two years, it was enough. finally! leinster have a win over la rochelle. and in this gruelling group, t

other sports including rugby union and cricket have already paved the way with female lead officialscup history last year when she took charge of costa rica versus germany in qatar. still, welch's appointment has surprised the likes of referee alison wade. surprised the likes of referee allison wade. how pivotal moment is this for english football? when i heard the news, i actually got goose bumps. it becomes part of the normal process rather than something that raises eyebrows and i think that's the key thing from a cultural perspective, is simply to make it normal. 0n boxing day, formerfirefighter sam allison will become the first black referee in the league since uriah rennie 15 years ago at a time ata time when video referrals has increased the scrutiny of officials, rebecca welch and sam allison may be hoping their achievements pass without examination. nesta mcgregor, bbc news. now, a meteor shower, known as the geminids, is peaking in skies around the world tonight. the multicoloured streaks of light are visible, depending on the weather where you are. in perfect conditions, y

england and australia couldn�*t be separated in the ashes, whilst cricket, rugby union and netball allting year was, for some, less a beginning and more a resumption. football had onlyjust returned after its unprecedented winter world cup break. also resuming, returning, the australian open once more welcomed novak djokovic, a year on from his deportation over his covid vaccination status. still no vax for novak, but here he was, back and unbeatable. his was a 22nd grand slam title. for irina sabalenka, a first. saudi arabia�*s bid to become a major player in global sport was laid bare. cristiano ronaldo becoming a figurehead for the fledgling football league. before the end of the year, they had all but been awarded a world cup.

to rugby union now, and a dramatic late win for exeter chiefs on the opening weekend of the championst season's semi—finalists took the lead in the first half after an interception from harvey skinner saw him run from well inside his own half to score. the hosts did respond however, as tries from beka gigashvili and ben white saw them take control, but having failed to score a point in the second half, two exeter tries saw the momentum shift. it left slade with the chance to kick for victory, and it was an opportunity he took, sparking wild celebrations amongst his teammates. elsewhere, a dominant second—half display saw bath beat ulster 37—14. the home side scored four unanswered tries after the break, with matt gallagher putting the seal on a strong performance at the recreation ground — bath securing the bonus—point victory. and it was a debut to remember for toulouse's blair kinghorn, as the full back ran in two tries in their 52—7 victory over cardiff. the scotland international struck in both halves. the french side easing to victory to go top of pool a. it was cardiff's heavies

england and australia couldn't be separated in the ashes, whilst cricket, rugby union and netball alling year was, for some, less a beginning and more a resumption. football had onlyjust returned after its unprecedented winter world cup break. also resuming, returning, the australian open once more welcomed novak djokovic, a year on from his deportation over his covid vaccination status. still no vax for novak but here he was, back and unbeatable. his was a 22nd grand slam title. for irina sabalenka, a first. saudi arabia's bid to become a major player in global sport was laid bare. cristiano ronaldo becoming a figurehead for the fledgling football league. before the end of the year, they had all but been

england are set to be without manu tuilagi for at least the start of this year's rugby union six nationsnother groin injury which, although not requiring surgery, is expected to rule him out of england's opener against italy in rome on 3rd ofjanuary. 0nto cricket, and south africa thrashed india inside three days in their openig test. despite virat kohli's best efforts, india were bowled out forjust 131 runs in their second innings — with only kholi and shubman gill reaching double figures — as they crumpled to an innings and 32 runs defeat at centurion. the second test begins in cape town next week. meanwhile, as pakistan look to level their series down under, a 96 from mitchell marsh helped australia wrestle back control of the boxing day test. after a terrible start to the third day in melbourne, where at one point australia were i6—a, marsh and steve smith combined for a crucial stand of 156 and australia closed with a lead of 241 runs and four wickets in tact. this year's cheltenham gold cup winner galopin des champs looks back to his brilliant best after thrashing a star—studded fi

september and has been included for the tournament, which is being held in the ivory coast. 0nto rugby union this year's six nations championship. the 32—year—old sale centre has another groin injury which, although not requiring surgery, is expected to rule him out of england's opener against italy in rome on the 3rd of february. this year's cheltenham gold cup winner, galopin des champs, looks back to his brilliant best after thrashing a star—studded field in ireland to win the savills chase by a massive 23 lengths. it's his first victory since the famous festival win, and he's now favourite to defend his title in march. 0nto cricket, and south africa thrashed india inside three days in their opening test. despite virat kohli's best efforts, india were bowled out forjust 131 runs in their second innings, with only kholi and shubman gill reaching double figures as they crumpled to an innings and 32 runs defeat at centurion. the second test begins in cape town next week. meanwhile, as pakistan look to level their series down under, a 96 from mitchell marsh helped australia wrestle back contr

and leicester tigers beat bath to deny them the chance to go top of rugby union's premiership.